Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Friday, 17 April 2020

BBC News

• Coronavirus: Cardiff Bus failed to use virus-killing disinfectantCardiff Bus put people at risk for several weeks by failing to use coronavirus-killing disinfectants, a drivers' union has claimed.
• Liverpool to Dublin ferry hit by payment rowP&O Ferries say its service has been
• Seafarers in limbo as coronavirus hits shippingThe shipping industry is already feeling the impact of Covid-19 as the world heads for recession.
• Coronavirus: Areas reliant on aviation industry 'to suffer worst'The economy around Gatwick airport will be hit hardest by coronavirus, a study finds.
• Coronavirus: EasyJet to leave middle plane seats emptyThe airline plans to introduce social distancing on flights after the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted.
• Coronavirus: Ventilator built by Airbus and F1 approvedAbout 1,500 of the adapted devices will be made each week by the start of May, developers say.

Financial Times

• EasyJet makes the best out of summertime bluesLow-cost airline’s living looks relatively easy; Informa turns to Covid-19 playbook

The Guardian

• EasyJet faces anything from a boom to profitless frustrationAirline isn’t going bust – yet – but no one knows what the future holds for air travelCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt was a tale of the good, the bad and the entertaining at easyJet. The welcome news for shareholders was that their airline is not going bust this year. That’s a low bar, but it had to be cleared.Extra borrowing, including £600m via the Bank of England-backed commercial paper scheme, means easyJet will soon have access to about £3.3bn of cash, enough to survive nine months of grounded planes, a scenario it calculates would cost a hefty £3bn. Continu...
• Small planes and no business class: will flying ever be the same again?Airlines hard hit by Covid-19 look for ways to protect staff and travellers and restore confidence The peak season for airlines should have started this Easter, when millions of passengers go on holiday and leisure trips through to September. Instead, carriers around the world have been forced to ground their fleets due to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.During this standstill, wider questions are occupying the industry: what steps would allow flying to restart, what will the pandemic mean for air travel,

Times Online

• Airlines ’will have to leave one third of seats empty’ after coronavirus crisis eases [subscription]Airlines are likely to be forced to fly with at least a third of seats empty when travel restrictions are lifted, amid fears that it will take up to two years for the aviation industry to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
• Drivers flout ban to ’keep battery up’ [subscription]Almost one in ten drivers is making non-essential journeys to prevent batteries running flat or to reach parks during the lockdown, according to research. A study by the RAC found that 60 per cent of drivers were using cars once a week or less for essential journeys, usually a supermarket trip.

City AM

• Easyjet CEO says founder's calls for his sacking are 'a distraction'Easyjet’s chief executive has said that calls for his removal from the airline’s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are “a distraction” and “quite frankly unhelpful”.
• Easyjet CEO says founder's calls for his sacking are 'a distraction'Easyjet’s chief executive has said that calls for his removal from the airline’s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are “a distraction” and “quite frankly unhelpful”.

The Mirror

• Millions could be 'told to wear masks to work and on transport' after lockdownThe Government is mulling over whether to enforce protective equipment in indoor work places as well on public transport as it looks to put in place plans for lifting the lockdown

Conservative Party

• George Bathurst: Nationalisation should be a stepping stone to a better private railway networkGeorge Bathurst is a former Conservative Councillor and Lead Member at Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. As well as promoting better transport solutions he works in IT infrastructure and cyber security.

Belfast Telegraph

• Middle-door bus boarding introduced in LondonPassengers will only be allowed to board London’s buses using the middle door in a new pandemic measure announced by Transport for London (TfL).

Birmingham Post

• Bentley Motors announces further three-week shutdownThe firm expects to ramp-up production at its UK headquarters from May 11

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus to help make thousands of ventilators in fight against coronavirusThe equipment will help coronavirus patients who are critically ill

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink driver fumes about 'selfish' lockdown rule-breakers'The number of people making obviously unnecessary journeys is staggering - it's hundreds a day'

The York Press

• Moors railway trains halted by the coronavirus crisisWITH the fine, sunny weather and children on their Easter holidays, packed steam trains would normally be chuffing across the North York Moors each day.

This Is Local London Network

• Middle-door bus boarding introduced in LondonPassengers will only be allowed to board London’s buses using the middle door in a new pandemic measure announced by Transport for London (TfL).

Leeds Live

• Jet2 launches 2021 summer schedule with three new destinations from LBAThe airline has put over two million flights on sale from Yorkshire's biggest airport

Other Regional Press

• London coronavirus: Free London bus travel as TfL confirms new middle-door only boardingPassengers are advised that they should not approach the card reader near the driver's cab
• Greater Anglia apologises for refund delays following ’unprecedented’ demandThe region’s main rail provider has apologised to passengers after delays to refunds for season ticket holders during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Cardiff Bus to observe one minute silence for transport workers who have died from coronavirusCARDIFF Bus, which operates services in the city and the Vale of Glamorgan, will observe a minute of silence at 11am on Friday, April 17.

British Trams Online

• Seaton 7 set to start the road to a returnAt this time of lockdown and the continued closure of all our heritage tramways, a lot of them are trying to keep people entertained with various archive images and challenges and sometimes included in these are snippets of information set to interest us. One recent post on the Seaton Tramway Facebook page has done just that as it mentions a restoration for tram 7 with the aim that it is “back in operation as fast as we can”.
• Former Apprentice appointed into senior Nexus roleStuart Clarke, who started at Nexus in 1997 as an apprentice electrician, has recently been appointed into the role of Metro Infrastructure Director. In this role he will head up all the maintenance and modernisation work on the 77km Tyne and Wear Metro network.
• Metro track replacement work to go-ahead as plannedWork on a 250 metre stretch of the Tyne and Wear Metro trackbed will go-ahead this coming weekend as part of the Metro: all change modernisation programme. The work will be taking place on Crossgate Viaduct over a four day period from Thursday 16th April with full social-distancing protocols in place for those working on the project.

Coach and Bus Week

• Moseley consolidates operationsAfter 30-years of trading, Moseley in the South is to be consolidated into Pontefract-based Moseley (PCV). For the last 23-years, the company has traded from a purpose-built site at the Chelston Business Park, which is located between Taunton and Wellington with easy to access from J26 of the M5.
• Unite call for all London bus workers to take a minutes silence on 17 AprilUnite the union has paid tribute to bus and transport workers in London who have died after contracting coronavirus ahead of a one minute’s silence being held at 11am on Friday 17 April and demanded that more be done to protect those still working.
• Frontline NHS staff get the rockstar treatment from Vans for BandsIn an unprecedented move, supported by musician Frank Turner and comedian and writer Adam Kay, UK music industry luxury vehicle company, Vans For Bands is offering its entire fleet to NHS hospitals for front-line staff to use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 | How stand-off with contractors finally ended with green light for main civils workHigh Speed 2 (HS2) contractors have been given the green light to start main civils work on phase one of the high speed line, after a two year stand-off over costs.

Rail Magazine

• First of five FirstGroup Class 803s arrives in UKThe first Class 803 electric multiple unit for FirstGroup’s East Coast open access operations has arrived in the UK for assembly at Newton Aycliffe.

Rail Technology Magazine

• HS2 welcomes Government approval to issue Notice to Proceed Today (April 15th) the Department for Transport (DfT) has given the go ahead for HS2 Ltd to issue Notice to Proceed to the four Main Works Civils Contractors working on the project, SCS Railways, Align JV, EKFB JV, and BBV JV, to commence full detailed design and construction of Phase One of the...

Railway Gazette

• Making transport more sustainable after the coronavirusEUROPE: Emphasising that ’the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic cannot simply be a return to business as usual’, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has published guidance for policy makers aiming to reduce car use in urban areas.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Coach industry SORN impact: Figures analysedAnalysis of SORN declarations for a random selection of coach fleets has given an insight into the extent to which the industry has been brought to a halt by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
• National Express positive despite COVID-19National Express Group (NEG) has reversed its recommendation to pay a dividend to shareholders for Q1 2020 because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, despite a relatively positive trading update for the period.
• DVSA responds to post-suspension testing worriesDVSA has responded to suggestions made by the Authorised Testing Facility Operators Association (ATFOA) that it will be unable to manage the volume of heavy vehicle MoT appointments needed once the three-month suspension of testing ends.
• Translink shares rainbows of hope across NI networkTranslink is displaying rainbows across its vehicles and billboards as part of its new #chasetherainbow campaign.
• Go-Ahead ’bus school’ keeps children busy during school shutdownsGo-Ahead is keeping children busy during school shutdowns with bus-related home activity sheets and an online ’bus school’ hosting educational activities.

RMT

• RMT slams Merseyrail contractors MitieRMT slams Merseyrail contractors Mitie for “disgraceful and cynical opportunism” as company withdraws pay increase in midst of Covid-19 crisis.

Green Miscellany

• When this is over, we don’t want the cars backOur national health emergency predates covid-19. Britain’s poisonous air causes 40,000 early deaths a year, with almost one in four of those occurring in London. Globally, air pollution kills over 4 million. Year in. Year out. However,  the covid-19 crisis is prompting the green shoots of change. New York has legalised pedelecs up to 20 mph, e-bikes up to 25… The post When this is over, we don’t want the cars back appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Middle-door bus boarding introduced in LondonPassengers will only be allowed to board London’s buses using the middle door in a new pandemic measure announced by Transport for London (TfL).
• Arriva Trains Wales Expansions removed from Train SimulatorThe following expansions have been delisted and removed from Steam.